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Sergals
=Physical Characteristics= 'Summary' Sergals have sharply angular, almost shark-shaped, heads with reptilian eyes and small pointed ears. This head sits atop vaguely humanoid form which covered in fur, sports a long tail, and has rat-like feet at the end of digitigrade legs. Their hands are humanoid though they only possess 4 fingers (3 and an opposable thumb). Claws adorn their feet and hands, though they are not particularly useful for combat. Their eyes are small but intelligent. Sergals have exceptional visual kinetic detection (like a sighthound) but otherwise, have average eyesight. Of note is that their powerful jaws hide rows of sharp teeth and a long, dexterous, tongue that often hangs out. Biologically, they are similar to mammals. Despite having a somewhat lanky, scrawny appearance sergals have dense muscles that are extremely efficient. This makes them tremendously strong and well suited to the life of the hunter. Their digitigrade legs are very powerful and can allow them to run at tremendous speeds and leap great distances with ease. 'Fur color and Hues' Sergal fur has a straightforward two-tone color pattern like that of a shark or many earthly mammals. Spots and Stripes are not common. Completely black or white Sergals are rarely seen and those with dark/light color inversion basically don't exist. However, these things are done by means of fur dyeing, which is a common behavior in urban areas. There are those who dye their bodies in vivid colors and even those who get tattoos. In general, a member of a mixed species can theoretically display a wide variation and range in their natural coat color, with a few key differences in mind per subspecies: Northerners will mostly display cold colors on their coats, with a white underbelly color whilst their Southern counterparts will have warm colors on their coats as well as feature white or sandy yellow underbelly shades. 'Head' The shape of the head and snout is inspired by sharks, with swept-back and pointed ears. The top of their heads is completely flat and smooth. They do not have browlines or curved foreheads. Ear holes cannot normally be seen from the side, because their ear holes always turn to the rear and are completely covered by rear pointing fur. In other words, their ears are NOT like the ears of Earth's creatures such as cats or foxes at all. A thick mane covers the back of their long neck from around the midsection of the head down to the area around the shoulder blades. 'Eyes' Eye colors are generally gray or grayish-colors. An adult sergal's eyes face outwards similar to lizards and rabbits, with vertically slitted pupils similar to cats. This gives them good peripheral vision and situational awareness. However, they have a relatively difficult time focusing on a single point or perceiving depth (stereopsis), making the use of projectile weapons such as bows and guns difficult. All sergals are born with forward-facing eyes, which in most sergals gradually turn to the side as they age. Some Northern Sergals, especially the pure-strain ones have permanently forward-facing eyes, this is in fact partly due to the environmental effects of Miasma upon them, as such this trait is considered an exception from the norm. Due to this, adult Northern sergals who have forward-facing eyes can be said to be neoteny. 'Voice' Sergals have an avian-style throat structure that gives them high pitched vocalizations. They are able to speak a general language and can also communicate using various animalistic "cries". 'Mouth and Tongue' The edge of a Sergal's mouth is roughly in vertical alignment with the eyes. The mouth can open very wide like a reptile's. They have a thick lower lip which can vary from light pink, fleshy tones to dark browns, purple and black, extending from the front of the lower jaw to the middle of the sides resembling that found in canines. Due to their mouth and throat structure, prey such as small animals is able to be swallowed whole. When eating the meat of large animals they will cut them into chunks since their jaw structure and lack of molars makes their chewing ineffective. They can swallow piglets size things as the largest things that are able to be swallowed by them without cutting. Damage from bite wounds is not so strong, because they don't have as many teeth and their jaws are not as strong. They have 12 fangs like canine teeth, those are replaced for life several times. Some sergals may have forked tongues like that of a snake, however, this is not a natural feature, but a surgical cut made for fashion or ritual. All other sergals with forked tongues are mimics of Rain. Hence, the tongue forking did not exist as a common cultural norm. There are naturally occurring folds on both sides of the tongue near the back of the throat. 'Chest and Breastbone' A sergal's arms, shoulders, chest, abdomen, and waist approximately resemble that of a human. One important distinction is the prominent ">" shaped breastbone, sternum or the keel. Due to the dense mass of chest fur, this bone protrusion is sometimes mistaken as merely a lump of fur. Due to the varying height of this protrusion between individuals, sergal clothing and armor are constructed with a wide raised portion around the breast to accommodate this. Both genders have pectoral muscles like a human male. 'Hands, feet & tail' Sergals possess three fingers and an opposable thumb on each hand, and four toes on each foot. Their fingers are similar to the fingers of rodents. While their feet have been described as being similar to avians, they are vastly similar to a rabbits and kangaroos. The upper palms and soles of the feet that make contact with the ground are padded and have no fur. 'Age' They grow and mature quickly than Earthian, are considered young adults by the age of 10 years in Earth's time. They correspond to Earthian 14-16 years old before reaching 10 years old. But this rapid growth brings a short lifespan to them. Their average lifespan is around 60 years old in Earth's time, but it’s rare that they reach such an age because so many die due to environmental hardships or combat before that time. They are drawn towards martial vocations (particularly fighters, rogues, and barbarians) which suit their predatory biology. The corresponding appearance change will appear due to aging; the fur of the chin and ear be longer, the cheeks are sunken, the hollows around the eyes are deeper, the wrinkles are made, the skin is sagging, the white fur comes from the face like a dog. Some will have weak legs and will be stooped due to the atrophy of the joints cartilage. There is no gender difference in appearance change for aging. As for the age of majority, pure Northerners are treated as an adult when they reach Earthian's 14-16 years old. It means they mature before reaching 10 years old at their age. 'Genitalia' Female Genitalia The female Sergal possesses a unique prehensile tentacle structure that is normally stowed inside the vagina. This "clitoral hood" is extended during mating to grasp the male's penis and maintain an erection until ejaculation. This is an adaptation to ensure successful breeding during difficult survival conditions where males become timid and avoid mating. The clitoral hood also serves as a cover to protect the vagina, allowing the female control over mating and potentially preventing rape. It is usually stowed inside the vagina, and acts as a "cover". It can move freely and is able to grab things. There are some people who misunderstand the tentacle-shaped part to be a giant clitoris, this, in itself, is not the clitoris. The clitoris exists in the area at the base of the underside of the tentacle-like part, The shape is not very much different from the clitoris of a female human. Warning NSFW Reference Male Genitalia Their penis' head is similar to Earth's humans but tapered at the tip. The structure of the penis is similar to canines where the penis is settled within a sheath while flaccid. When erect, the entire penis becomes exposed from the base to the tip. The testicles reside outside the body and are contained in a scrotum. Sergal penises are not prehensile. 'Subspecies Differences' Sergals have two subspecies: northern and southern sergals. The two groups find little in common and engage in vicious and often bloody wars with one another. The northern variety has a more imposing physique, being several inches taller and possessing a good deal more muscular definition than their southern counterparts. Northern sergals have longer fur that is grey, black, blue, or white. Southern sergals are shorter and have more slender frames with longer facial features. Their ears are also longer and noticeably more swept back than their northern counterparts. Their fur is much shorter and comes in all the colors of their northern kin but also add earth tones (reddish browns, tans blondes, white, brindle, yellows) to the variety. They both share the same range of eye color, mostly blues or greys, and the sort of patterns for their fur. Most often they have two-tone fur coloration, one going down the front and one on their back. Rare mutations can produce dramatic shifts in both fur and eye color and individuals with such mutations are often singled out for special attention (positive or negative) amongst their clans. The subspecies can interbreed and the resulting sergal tends to identify with one or the other subspecies more (both socially and physically), while still retaining some traits of both their parents. 'Diet' While originally being carnivorous, sergals living in the more cultured and civilized regions have developed omnivorous tendencies. If they are given a choice between the meat of land animals or fish, they will prefer fish. Northern sergals are carnivorous and eat the meat of wild game animals. They also favor the meat of large animals, cutting them into chunks so that they can swallow without chewing. They will also kill small animals and swallow them whole. They may also supplement with grasses depending on the season. Southern sergals are omnivorous and mainly eat fish, plants, and insects. There is not much difference in the availability of animals and plants throughout planet Tal, so differences in eating habits are easily accommodated. Southerners have also incorporated cooking into their culture and eat a variety of invertebrates. 'Personalities' A sergal's personality is strongly influenced by its surrounding culture, so there are noticeable differences in the character of sergals from different areas. In general, they are simple-minded and optimistic, and are often cowardly and easily led. Their simple-mindedness makes them focus on basic concerns, which leads to having poor awareness of the smaller details or the bigger picture. One potential benefit of this is that they don't remember quarrels and don't hold grudges. Their critical and logical thinking skills are somewhat poor. The average intelligence of an adult Sergal is comparable to that of a 14-year-old human male. However, their keen intuition remains with them even into old age. Most sergals are good and decent individuals, but their naivety and simplistic nature can lead to quarreling, petty violence, and sexual misbehavior. They can be easy to fool and are often swindled. Sergals tend to be simple minded and have weak critical thinking abilities, as such they are easily influenced by their environment or by charismatic or strong-willed individuals. Their nature often reflects that of their leader; if their leader is brutal- they will be rude and brutal, if their leader is kind his subjects will also be kind of heart, if their leader is underhanded they too will be crafty. They flock to strong leaders but when they are without one, sergals tend to be unambitious and unsophisticated. They are territorial by nature and their disposition towards combat stems from this. This occurs in mundane life as well, personal space and the allocation of living space within a community being a very strict affair. ='Culture'= 'Society' Sergals have diverse lifestyle but much of it revolves around military pursuits and is decidedly matriarchal. If not actively involved in the military, many work in support of it (growing food for the troops, crafting weapons, etc). As much of their income comes from conquest- the ruling caste is of a military ilk. However, merchants wield a great deal of power amongst the southern sergal and they have a much more relaxed lifestyle. Sergals live in clans or tribes, supporting each other and forming warbands. Each clan is run by a council of generals who elects one of their members as a figurehead to speak on their behalf. Often this is not a sought-after position as it takes time away from military conquest. While sergals have their own personal name they take their family name from the name of their tribe or clan, rather than their immediate family. While sergals view strength as a virtue, they do not require it in leadership. Sergals prefer to cooperate in groups without hierarchy, unlike wolves who will fight for dominance in their pack. This is especially apparent with Northern sergals. Having shared their environment with dangerous wildlife, they formed their society with fear and respect for their natural surroundings and its inhabitants. To them, nature plays both a maternal and adversarial role, and they lack a strong leader among themselves. 'Northerners' The northern sergal are semi-nomadic, traveling in bands. Some, with warlike leaders, form large war parties to raid other settlements and bringing it back their spoils to one of their few permanent cities. Those without this disposition make excellent traders, hunter-gatherers, and herdsmen. Northern sergal settlements tend not to be wealthy but they are generally still a step or two above living in squalor. Those that become extremely wealthy will build large, well-defended cities or flaunt their wealth with heavy-handed splendor. Despite the northern sergal’s occasional warlike disposition they are often actively engaged in trade agreements with other societies due to their constant need for war material. They are poor artisans and don’t enjoy hands-on work particularly. If they are unable to trade with more advanced cultures, their weapons end up being rather primitive. They pay highly for weapons and armor of exceptional craftsmanship. If the goods are of excellent quality, they may even offer military aid, protection, or pacts of non-aggression to such societies. They are a very closed society and it is unheard of that outsiders (or even southern sergals) would live in their settlements. Sergals are skilled hunters and many raise herding animals or livestock. Sergals are famous for offering their considerable skills are mercenaries and are a terrifying sight to see amongst an enemy’s lines. 'Southerners' Southern sergals are generally more affluent than their northern cousins. They generally live in multi-ethnic cities and are skilled traders due to their more amenable dispositions. They are accepting of half-breed sergals, immigrants, and even exiles from other cultures. Those few southern sergals who are forced to live in the desert eke out pitiful lives in unforgiving desert environments. They are more passive and welcome others from all walks of life into their cities. 'Hierarchy' Northerners In the Northern lands, the role of leader and high ranking individuals is usually handed over by elders or trusted people within their respective groups. Northern sergals can naturally understand what job another should have. Like wolves, their system has no concept of "moving up in the world" and roles are determined naturally. They do not have written words and while very few actually speak, their communication is mostly accomplished with cries. Southerners In the Southern lands, physically fighting for things rarely happened, instead of having people who had more experience get into favorable positions. It's similar to a cooperate boss rather than a combatant leader. 'Sex Differences' It is generally difficult to determine the differences between the two sexes based on outward appearances and behavior. However southern sergals occasionally show a noticeable difference in the way their dress based on their interactions with other races as part of their upbringing. Southern sergal females, in particular, have fostered their own feminine identity; "They look graceful and pretty, but they have a strong sense of justice and a stubborn, single-minded side." Female sergals tend to take initiative for intercourse due to a structure of their genitalia. However, both genders play an equal role in the workplace and in domestic terms. 'Sexuality' Because homosexuality is generally not treated as abnormal behavior in Tal, sergals also generally don't have antipathy or aversion to homosexuals. Also peculiarly as for them, they don't stick to one partner unlike human of Earth. Their basic sexuality may correspond to polyamory and pansexuality in the case of Earth. When they pick on or flirt with someone, they value appearance most, don't mind about race differences and sex differences. 'Family and Children' In general, sergals consider their community to be one large "family". They will raise their children communally regardless of blood relationship if they are part of the same social group. It is common for females to bear the young of males other than their partner, who never mind the mating with others in the group. It is not unusual for there to be a few homosexuals among the group as well. As it is common for both partners to work, couples will usually entrust their offspring to communal child care facilities for their safety. Educational facilities like schools also exist. As they do not process breastfeeding ability, they depend on their prey creatures and edible plants around them when they feed their newborns instead. In old times, they fed the blood of animals and liquefied plant matter until babies become to be able to swallow solid food. Industrial food production in the civilized areas has allowed for a range of commercial liquid food for infants. 'Occupations' Sergals usually end up as either combatants or manual laborers, but jobs related to creatures or supernatural are a very suitable occupation for them as well. A typical sergal occupation would be a soldier, guard, construction worker, hunter, fisher, farmer, butcher, breeder, a biology student, priest, monk, and shaman. Their movements and actions tend to be rough and bold, and due to other biological reasons, they are unsuitable for jobs that require fine motor skills or concentration. However, they possess strong intuition, a good sensuous quick thinking for natural environment and wildlife, and superior physical abilities which makes them excellent at hunting and fishing. And those benefits gave them the ability to take jobs related to wildlife like biology student and farmer. Biology student sergals were used as employee scholar with agudner technology slaves in Shigu Kingdom. All sergals are suitable to work surroundings of supernatural culture like shamans due to their deeply religious nature and superior sixth sense. They have a strong ability for shamanism as racial nature, especially more primitive sergals like uncivilized Northern sergals were having a higher thing of those. Shaman sergals do shrine rituals such as ceremonies, praying for rain, praying for sunny, and an exercising. Also, some of them perform magic rituals such as an incantation, a curse, a fortunetelling, and other miscellaneous praying. They do a pilgrimage to dozens of small shrines in each place of planet Tal, to get the super spiritual powers that they believe that it can make them be able to do both of shrine rituals and magic rituals. 'Weapons and Combat Ability' Sergals prefer to use a lance, spear, javelin, long-sword, two-handed sword, saber, slingshot, or occasionally a mace when fighting in combat. They sometimes also put metal blades on their legs and claws to enhance their close-range killing ability. These were developed mainly by the Shigu Clan but their use is disliked as they are considered excessively cruel. Sergals tend not to use larger shields, but a small type of shield attached to their forearm is commonly employed. Basically, sergals love melee combat and are quite deadly at it. They prefer the use of bladed weapons as they find them most effective at dealing with Talyxian or even the occasional Eltus threats. Blades also hold up a very distinct, spiritual meaning in lore as well as practical, which is why they are emphasized as the usual go-to solution, from the old-era all the way up to modern. Also, sergals have a wide peripheral vision and excellent situational awareness, but their overall quality of vision is poor. Due to their eyesight working in conjunction with their brain structure, they are unable to focus on a single target well, and they cannot successfully use projectile weapons without assistance. However, they can practice simple long range attack like a javelin at close range quite well. Sergals specialize in teamwork during hunting and combat in a manner similar to a canine pack. Their main proficiency is in evasion and strong offensive abilities, featuring quick, dynamic movements and leveraging their strong jumping ability. Their strength is in close range combat, and they can quickly close the distance from mid-range engagements. They will take advantage of their high stamina to run long distances, chasing down their enemy or prey until they do not have the strength to escape. Sergal soldiers wear relatively light combat armor made of ceramic and can disregard their own defense to a degree when facing off against an opponent. Sergals secrete a large amount of adrenaline during combat and can ignore minor injuries and distractions. Their sensitivity to pain is dulled and their focus is sharpened significantly. However, their critical thinking also deteriorates and they will behave like a pack of lemmings without sufficiently skilled leadership. 'Military Service' Military service is compulsory in adolescence and spans a period of at least 5 years, though many serve for far longer. Officer training can only occur after the initial 5 year period, ensuring that they have field experience. Any citizen can be called temporarily back into service as part of the militia in time of crisis. They are famous for their armored spearmen and are not particularly given to mounted combat or archery. They traditionally wield lances (even unmounted), axes, halberds, and other polearms. In combat, they make use of their powerful legs and leap upon their prey with astounding speed. They still have a hunter mentality and are experts at scouting and harassing an enemy. Sergals tend to use a lot of ceramics in their armor and, particularly in the north, their armor tends towards angular lines and stresses form over function. ='Racial Traits'= Ability Score Racial Traits (1): Sergals are warlike, possess the cunning of a predator, but an adult sergal possesses the equivalent intelligence of a 14 year old human. • Northern sergals gain a +2 Strength, +2 Wisdom, and a -2 Intelligence. • Southern sergals gain a +2 Dexterity, +2 Wisdom, and a -2 Intelligence.' Size (0): Sergals are Medium creatures and thus receive no bonuses or penalties due to their size.' Type (0): Sergals are humanoids with the sergal subtype.' Base Speed (2): Sergals have a base speed of 40 feet.' Languages (1): Sergals begin play speaking Common and Sergal. Sergal with high Intelligence scores can choose from any language (other than secret ones).' Weapon Familiarity (2): Sergals are considered proficient in all martial weapons in the fighter’s polearm weapon group' Bite (2): Sergals have a 1d4 bite attack.' Digitigrade Legs (2): Sergals gain a +2 racial bound on all Climb checks and a +2 bonus on all Acrobatics checks made to jump.' Kinetic Detection (1): Sergal gain a +2 racial bonus on Perception checks to spot creatures who are moving.' Darkvision 60 feet (2): Sergals can see in the dark up to 60 feet.' Racial Point: 13''' Alternate Racial Traits Survivalist (Southern): Life in the desert is harsh and unforgiving. Learning to live on little forces a sergal to become harsh and rugged. They gain a +2 bonus on Survival checks and only need to eat half as much as a normal sergal to survive. This replaces their Digitigrade Legs racial trait.''' Sergal Merchant (Southern): Amenable, diplomatic, and multicultural, some southern sergals become merchants. They gain a +2 racial bonus on Knowledge (local), Sense Motive, and Diplomacy checks. This replaces the Weapon Familiarity racial trait. Warlord (Northern): Years of brutal training has forged this sergal into a living weapon. They gain a +2 racial bonus on Intimidate checks and the Toughness bonus feat. This replaces their Digitigrade Legs racial trait. Random Sergal Starting Ages Random Sergal Height and Weight Sergal Visual References 52ktd2u.jpg|Female sergal (Standard) sergal_maja_by_maylamorro-d4bd98r.jpg|Alternate female with tits commission_sergal_by_galaxianin-d8y5b3d.png|Dyed fur sergal 1244078249450.jpg|Male sergal Category:Race